Andrews' beaked whale (''Mesoplodon bowdoini''), sometimes known as the deep-crest beaked whale or splay-toothed whale, is one of the least known members of a poorly known genus. The species has never been observed in the wild, and is known only from specimens washed up on beaches.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1908 by the American scientist

Roy Chapman Andrews Roy Chapman Andrews (January 26, 1884 – March 11, 1960) was an American explorer, adventurer and naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He led a series of expeditions through the politically disturbed ...

from a specimen collected at New Brighton Beach,

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, in 1904. He named it in honor of George S. Bowdoin, a donor and trustee to the American Museum of Natural History.

Description

The body of Andrews' beaked whale is robust in comparison with other members of the genus. The melon is low, and the beak is short and thick. The lower jaw is peculiar in that halfway through it rises up significantly with the teeth extending over the

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

. The head also sometimes has a light patch on the sides, more prominent in the males. The male, overall dark gray to black, has a lighter "saddle" marking between the blowhole and

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

on its back. Males also carry scars typical of the genus. Females are slate gray with grayish-white flanks and belly. Cookie cutter shark bites are present in both sexes. Females are believed to reach at least and males . The young are believed to be around long when born.

Behavior

The calving season may be during summer and autumn off

. Otherwise, any behavior is completely unknown.

Population and distribution

Andrews' beaked whales live in the Southern Hemisphere, and the precise range is uncertain. Some 35 stranded specimens have been recorded in Australia and

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...

, the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, and

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...

. That range may imply a circumpolar distribution. However, there are no confirmed sightings to confirm this.

Conservation

Andrews' beaked whale has never been hunted, and there are no records of it being caught in fishing gear. In addition, Andrews’ beaked whale is covered by the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region ( Pacific Cetaceans MOU).Official webpage of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region
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Specimens

MNZ MM002133
collected Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand 1992

References

*''Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals''. Edited by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J.G.M Thewissen. Academic Press, 2002. *''Sea Mammals of the World''. Written by Randall R. Reeves, Brent S. Steward, Phillip J. Clapham, and James A. Owell. A & C Black, London, 2002.

External links

FactsheetsWhale & Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q503578 Mesoplodont whales Cetaceans of the Pacific Ocean Mammals described in 1908